This data center has been pushed halfway through permitting without community approval. The mission of this group is to raise awareness of the well documented threats to our health, natural resources, infrastructure, and how to help stop it.
What we know so far about buildings like the one intended for the Thistle Landing site:
TOP 7 FACTS: THISTLE LANDING DATA CENTER — What Every Ahwatukee Resident Must Know:
🚨 SITE DEMO & GRADING HAS BEGUN — BUILDING PERMITS STILL PENDING — WE CAN STILL DEMAND PROTECTIONS 🚨
1. POWER: 6X OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY — This facility will consume 6 times more electricity than all 28,746 Ahwatukee homes combined. A 100 MW data center = 80,000–100,000 homes. This facility will be 257 MW
2. 24/7 INDUSTRIAL NOISE — Data centers generate 96 dB interior noise. Low-frequency hum travels 1+ miles and penetrates walls. Backup generators tested monthly, run "full bore" every 90 days. If the data center loses power, these backup generators will run 24/7 until power is restored.
3. CHANDLER REGRETS THIS — Residents across I-10 near CyrusOne data center: years of complaints about unbearable 24/7 noise. Chandler now refuses new data centers and requires noise studies.
4. ACOUSTIC NIGHTMARE — South Mountain and Foothills create "amphitheater effect." Rocky desert reflects sound. Temperature inversions bend noise downward. Homes near hills could experience noise TWICE AS LOUD as flat terrain.
5. NO ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW — Approved with: ❌ No noise study ❌ No water analysis ❌ No power study ❌ No community input ❌ No topographic assessment.
6. HEALTH IMPACTS — Sleep disruption, hearing damage (prolonged 85+ dB exposure), increased stress. This also includes an impact on our pets.
7. ZONING LOOPHOLE — "Data center" sounds harmless. This is an industrial power plant that processes data. Modern AI facilities use 3–4x more power than traditional ones, but are approved under OLD zoning codes.
Other Considerations:
- DIESEL GENERATOR EXHAUST: Data centers run banks of large diesel generators for backup power. Monthly testing and outage operation releases nitrogen oxides (NOx), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide, and hazardous air
pollutants (Carbon Dioxide, VOCS & HAPs) — directly into a residential area with no buffer zone. PM2.5 is linked to respiratory illness, heart disease, and premature death.
- Data centers release heat and can increase the temperature in the nearby area by 3-4 degrees Fahrenheit
DATA CENTER OPPOSITION GROUP — COMMUNITY MEETINGS HELD REGULARLY
Join the email list to be notified when the next one is being held
SOURCES
1 U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2023; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, "United States Data Center Energy Usage Report," 2024. A 100 MW data center draws ~876,000 MWh/year; U.S. average home uses ~10,500 kWh/year.
2 ASHRAE TC 9.9, Data Center Noise Standards; EPA noise ordinance guidelines. Backup generator load bank testing requirements per NFPA 110.
3 Chandler, AZ adopted data center noise moratorium, 2022. Multiple resident complaints filed with Maricopa County Environmental Services regarding CyrusOne Chandler campus.
4 National Park Service, "Acoustics and Sound Propagation," 2019; NOAA atmospheric acoustics research on temperature inversions and sound refraction near terrain features.
5 Based on community open records requests and review of Phoenix City Council minutes. No formal EIS, noise study, or water analysis appears in the public record for this approval.
6 Phoenix Zoning Ordinance, Title 6; American Planning Association, "Data Centers and Land Use," 2022. AI hyperscale facilities (NVIDIA H100-class clusters) draw 3–4x the power density of legacy colocation centers.
7 City of Phoenix Water Services Dept. rate schedule; Phoenix City Council budget hearings, FY2023–2024. Industrial water users are billed separately, but infrastructure upgrades required to serve large industrial users are recovered through system-wide rate adjustments. of Phoenix Planning Dept. case file before final publication.